Wiltshire College & University Centre’s motorsport engineering department unveiled their new car design for the 2023 season over the Easter weekend with the help of the competition winner who created it.
WCUC’s university-level programmes in motorsport engineering are delivered at a specialist trackside centre at Castle Combe race circuit. Alongside their studies, students and staff also operate a racing team which competes in various championships at Castle Combe.
For 2023, the team wanted to rebrand the livery of their Formula Ford car and ran a competition inviting local school children to come up with the design.
Maisie Harbud, aged eight, was chosen as the winner after coming up with a striking green and blue colour scheme.
With the new design now painted on the car, Maisie and her parents, Catherine and Graham, and siblings William and Alice were invited to officially unveil the car alongside the WCUC team at the Howard’s Day race meeting at Castle Combe over the Easter weekend.
Maisie was thrilled to see what her design looked like and very proud to have been chosen as the winner. Her mum, Catherine, added that it showed motorsport was not just a sport for men and boys.
Although the WCUC car did not take to the track at the meeting, Maisie and her family still got to enjoy plenty of action-packed races and a small taste of racing themselves with a go on the WCUC driving simulator.
David Campion, Centre Manager at WCUC’s Castle Combe base and Programme Lead for the university-level motorsport programmes added: “We were so pleased Maisie and her family could join us to officially unveil the new design for our Formula Ford car. We had some really creative entries but Maisie was definitely a worthy winner with her eye-catching colours.
“We’re looking forward to getting the car out on track at the next meeting at the May Day Madness event at Castle Combe on 1st
May. Hopefully Maisie’s design can bring us some luck and we can have a strong season.”
WCUC’s Foundation Degree in Motorsport Engineering and BEng (Hons) (top-up) Motorsport Technology courses are delivered in partnership with Oxford Brookes University. Level 2 and Level 3 full-time post-16 courses are also offered at the Chippenham campus. Find out more by clicking here.
PICTURE: Competition winner Maisie Harbud, her parents Graham and Catherine and siblings Alice and William are joined by Wiltshire College & University Centre Head of Faculty -Engineering and Automotive Lily Raynor-Blundell (left) and Castle Combe Centre Manager David Campion (right) to unveil the new Formula Ford car design
